Laslandes lambasts "kick and rush" Reid

The French striker has joined Bastia on loan in a bid to escape his nightmare in the North East, after failing to prove his worth since arriving from Bordeaux last year.

After Reid decided his new man was not capable of being a long-term replacement for Niall Quinn, he loaned him to Cologne last season.

"Bordeaux were not frank with me," he recalled.

"I decided to leave but I didn't imagine for a second what would happen.

"My choice to leave for Sunderland was not wise. I was mistaken."

Laslandes claims he hoped the Wearsiders would play a continental style of football, but was disappointed after the first match of the 2001/2002 season.

"Peter Reid went back to pure 'kick and rush'," he complained.

"I was lost.

"However, I decided to wait to see if the talks I had before my signature would become concrete.

"After six or seven matches, I understood.

"I met him and told him he should have kept Quinn in because he was much more adapted to that purely British style.

"He took it very badly.

"After some matches with the reserve team, it was a succession of dirty tricks.

"He called me up for one match and, at the last moment, put me in the stands.

"He wanted me to crack me up, but I survived."

Laslandes feels the spell in Germany was not a complete failure, and is looking forward to resurrecting his career with Bastia.

"In Germany, Ewan Lienen was sacked and his successor did not speak neither French nor English," he told France Football.

"Everything was less simple.

"However, I played seven matches on the trot and, in the eighth, after the referee disallowed me two valid goals, I got a red card.

"For me, like other players, Bastia is the perfect springboard.

"Since I arrived here, I have come alive again.

"To sign and allow me to play for them, I accept a serious decrease in wages.

"Even the officials were surprised but it was not an issue."